Saturday, 3 December 2016

Natural Vegetation: Forest in India

By GK Planet Team Saturday, 3 December 2016

»A forest is
a large area dominated by trees.

»According
to the widely used Food and Agriculture Organization definition,
forests covered four billion hectares (15 million square miles) or
approximately 30 percent of the world's land area in 2006.

Forests in India

»Forestry
in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental
resource.

»India
is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with the
Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, United States of America, China, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Australia, Indonesia and Sudan.

»Together,
India and these countries account for 67 percent of total forest area of the
world.

»India's
forest cover grew at 0.22% annually over 1990-2000, and has grown at the rate
of 0.46% per year over 2000-2010,after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious
concern.

»As
of 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United
Nations estimates India's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares,
or 22% of the country's area.

»The
2013 Forest Survey of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million
hectares by 2012, per satellite measurements; this represents an increase of
5,871 square kilometers of forest cover in 2 years.

»2013
forest survey data

»According
to India's 2013 forest survey report, the forest cover in top five states has
increased, with the exception of Arunachal Pradesh.

State

Area

(in million
hectares)

Madhya Pradesh

7.75

Arunachal
Pradesh

6.73

Chhattisgarh

5.6

Maharashtra

5.06

Odisha

5.03

»Ranking
of Indian states with maximum percentage forest cover is as follows:

1.Mizoram

2.Lakshadweep

3.Andaman & Nicobar

4.Arunachal Pradesh

5.Nagaland

6.Meghalaya

7.Manipur

»Above
states have more than 75% area under forest.

Types of Forests in India

»Based
on climatic conditions, forests are divided into five categories. They are −

1.Tropical Evergreen and Semi Evergreen
forests

2.Tropical
Deciduous forests

3.Tropical
Thorn forests

4.Montane
forests

5.Littoral
and Swamp forests

»The
above five types of forests are found in India which cover nearly 17 per cent
of the total area of Indian territory.

1.Tropical Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen Forests

»Tropical
Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests are typically found in warm and humid
areas with rainfall more than 200cm and mean annual temperature more
than 22 degrees.

»In
India, evergreen forest are found in western slopes of Western Ghats, hilly
areas of N.E states, Andaman and Nicobar islands.

»No
fixed seasons for flowering, shedding or fruiting in these forests.

»They
are green all the year round.

»Very
dense forests and well stratified.

»Very
tall Trees which can go upto 60m or above are found in Tropical Evergreen
forests.

»Main
Species- Rosewood, Ebony, Mahagony etc.

»Tropical
Semi-Evergreen Forests are found in less rainy areas of the region. These
forests have mix of Evergreen and Deciduous varieties.

»However,
at higher altitude, the tundra vegetation is found and major species are mosses
and lichens.

»At
a higher altitude, the southern mountain forests largely belong to the
temperate type, which are locally known as ‘Sholas’ in the Nilgiris,
Anaimalai, and Palani hills. Some of the trees of economic significance
include magnolia, laurel, cinchona, and wattle.

5.Littoral and Swamp Forests

»They
can survive and grow both in fresh as well as brackish water (The
mixture of seawater and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water and
its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt).

»Occur
in and around the deltas, estuaries and creeks prone to tidal influences
(delta or tidal forests).

»Littoral
(relating to or on the shore of the sea or a lake) forests occur at several
places along the coast.

»Swamp
forests are confined to the deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Godavari,
the Krishna and the Cauvery.